Environmentalists say that the only solution to Hong Kong's mounting volume of waste is to dump debris in China. Green Power chief secretary Alex Yan said: 'China has a large carrying capacity but in Hong Kong there will be no outlet within 12 to 14 years. Hong Kong must seek another landfill in Guangdong.' But Deputy Director of Environmental Protection, Mike Stokoe said that Hong Kong could not dump its waste in southern China, which was suffering from the same problem. The Government estimates landfills will be used up by 2026, even with waste reduction measures under consideration and a recycling facility for construction waste. Half the total amount of waste dumped in landfills comes from the construction industry - compared to two thirds a year ago. Civil Engineering Department senior engineer Henry Chan Chi-yan said that a review of the public dumping strategy would help identify new sites and would provide a more accurate intake prediction. But Friends of the Earth spokesman Lisa Hopkinson said: 'What we should be doing now is thinking how to minimise waste by better building design and trying to stop this speculative development where people demolish buildings and rip out the fittings without any concern for the environment.' She said that the Friends of the Earth would not support the shipping of waste to China. 'There is a lesson to be learned,' she said. 'Hong Kong is going to face the same problem soon. In a decade our landfills will be full up. 'Where do we want to put our waste - in someone else's backyard ?'
